Australian gets goahead to deepfreeze himself and parents: "Philip Rhoades, 54, told the Herald Sun newspaper it was believed to be only the third such centre in the world, and that he and his family would be among the first to be frozen in minus 150 degrees C (minus 238 F) liquid nitrogen.

'My parents are both science types, like me, and with my siblings are interested in this great experiment,' Rhoades said.

'If I can eventually help other people whose lives should be longer, this would also be a good thing to do.'

The New South Wales state government's health department has approved the centre, the paper said.

Rhoades has already spent 650,000 dollars (490,000 US dollars) developing plans for underground storage at Cowra, about 200 kilometres (130 miles) west of Sydney. He hopes to start building on the 60 hectare site within six months.

Under the cryogenic process, bodies are drained of blood, pumped full of chemicals and stored in liquid nitrogen to preserve them in the hope that future medical advances will enable them to be brought back to life. "